Michael Mendheim brings "The Four Horsemen" to Heavy Metal

Elliott Serrano, for Redeye

When I attended the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) this past Spring, I met Chicago-based writer Michael Mendheim. He was at the show promoting his new graphic novel series "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", an action/fantasy series that is published under the iconic Heavy Metal banner.

"The Four Horsemen" tells the story of Adam Cahill, a gritty action hero chosen by fate to stave off the end of the world. First conceived as a video game, Mendheim fought to bring the story to the medium of graphic novels.

For Mendheim, creating the series has been a struggle almost as epic as the one his hero goes through in the book. To his credit, he has succeeded in bringing Adam Cahill to life on the four-colored page, with the help of comics superstar Simon Bisley no less.

With promotions for The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in full swing, Michael Mendheim took some time to answer questions about the book, and even offer a FREE COPY of the book for one lucky Geek To Me reader!:

Geek To Me: I see that you were debuting your new book "Heavy Metal: The Four Horsemen" at the show. How did the book come about?

Michael Mendheim: The concept for Four Horsemen originally started as a videogame at the 3DO Company. This was back in 2001. I was the Creative Director / Producer for the title and hired Simon Bisley along with Academy Award winner / special effects guru, the late Stan Winston to help us with the early character designs. The game was coming along nicely but then 3DO endured financial hardship when the tech bubble burst and they filed for bankruptcy. Rather than let the property die and my dream disintegrate, I purchased 4H out of bankruptcy – it took about 18 months for the property to clear but once it did, I owned it free and clear and then tried to get the game back into development... but the timing was not right so instead decided to write a graphic novel. I called up Simon and pitched him the idea and he was on board.

It took another few years to get the books finished, part of this was because of scheduling conflicts and a lot of it because of finances (I personally financed the project with some help from family members). Four Horsemen is an epic story, with epic art and nothing about this project has been small or easy. It's consists of 3 books, totaling about 213 pages. Trying to getthe book completed has been a never-ending, uphill battle and not for the faint of heart. Anyone who is sane would’ve quit years ago but I’m not sane and either is Simon -- so somehow it all worked out and it got it finished. One thing I learned from finishing this beast is to never give up and always believe.

Geek To Me: What kinds of fans do you see getting into "The Four Horsemen"? Does it lean towards fantasy? Will fans of the sci-fi punk Heavy Metal era enjoy it?

Michael Mendheim:The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Graphic Novel has the potential to draw from a variety of different fan bases, obviously if you're a Simon Bisley fan this graphic novel series is a must have. It’s the first graphic novel from Simon Bisley in over a decade and has some of Simon’s best work to date. One reviewer wrote, “It's almost as if the pages are drenched in ink that's evil.” That pretty much sums it up.

The book is for fans that enjoy well paced action mixed with horror elements. Think “The Matrix goes to Hell.” The hero of our story is Adam Cahill, he is a warrior bound by bloodline to guardthe Seven Holy Seals that contain the End of Days. But sinister forces strike against him and send him into Hell itself. There, he must find three corrupt souls (an addict, a serial killer and acorrupt politician), chosen by Divinity, to join him in battle against the Four Horsemen to not only save their own souls, but to decide the very fate of Humanity."

The villains in most other comics are the heroes in Four Horsemen. We use religion and the end of days as a backdrop to our story, which is about 4 people coming to terms with their innerdemons and overcoming their fears and doubt. The underlying theme drives home the point that no matter how bad you are whatever sinful acts you've done, it's never too late to change and for those willing to sacrifice to make a change -- redemption is possible.

Geek To Me: Heavy Metal is a title I remember from my days as a comic-book geek in high school! What does it mean working under such a prestigious banner?

Michael Mendheim:Heavy Metal is known throughout the world, it is synonymous with cutting edge art, art that is brash and unashamed. Heavy Metal was one of the first magazines to view the world of comics as serious art. The artwork in Heavy Metal is beautiful, sexy, edgy and prolific as is Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse -- so it was a natural fit.

2012 is Heavy Metal's 35th anniversary and Kevin Eastman; owner of Heavy Metal and co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles thought it would be a fantastic idea to release anepic graphic novel to coincide with the anniversary of the magazine. Simon Bisley has been a mainstay at Heavy Metal over the years and since he was behind all of the art of the books,Kevin thought Heavy Metal and Four Horsemen would be a perfect union. The fact that's its 2012 and the world is supposed to end made it that much more relevant.

Kevin Eastman and Heavy Metal has been a fantastic partner for the Horsemen series. Kevin is re-imagining Heavy Metal and as the magazine heads into the future it is going to become even more significant and relevant. I feel extremely lucky and fortunate to be a small part of the next phase of Heavy Metal's history.

Geek To Me: I see that Simon Bisley is working on the book. Is he writing the book? Handling art chores? A combination of both?

Michael Mendheim: The book is written by me, Mike Kennedy and Sean Jaffe. Simon Bisley did all the illustrations in the book. Chad Fidler is the colorist.

Geek To Me: He's a pretty popular guy in the industry, and I'm sure he's pretty busy, so how did you manage to get him on board?

Michael Mendheim: Originally I thought Simon would be perfect for the project and as a videogame Producer in charge of the product I simply called him up and asked if he would like to work on it. Simon was part of the project since the beginning and over the years both he and I had a lot invested in the property. After the collapse of 3DO and being able to secure the property out of bankruptcy, the biggest issue we faced was finding the time to complete and the funding to pay for it. There were times when 5 or 6 months would go by without any art being delivered. Somehow we managed to get it done and release it. It's been a long strange trip but to be honest, Simon's artistic brilliance has made this book and there is no artist who would've been more perfect for this project.

Geek To Me: You're from the Chicago area, right? Tell us what some of the challenges are working in an industry where so many writers/artists/publishers are located in New York and Hollywood?

Michael Mendheim: Actually my first industry is videogames and not comics. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is the first graphic novel I've ever written. Whether it's videogames or comics though it's still the same deal, Chicago is not known as a key epicenter for developing entertainment products but with today's tech it's really not a problem to do business long distance. I'm working on games being built in the Ukraine; we have daily webcam meetings on Skype and then arrange travel as is necessary. Obviously being onsite at a moment's notice or lunch meetings are not possible but beyond the in-person meetings, pretty much everything can be handled virtually. If it's possible to build a game long distance it's certainly possible to develop a graphic novel. In the end it's all about good communication and direction.

Geek To Me: Where can folks buy "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"?

Michael Mendheim: You can find Four Horsemen in many comic book stores. If you don't have a store near you feel free to call 1-888-Comic-Book to find the store nearest you or order directly via www.heavymetal.com.

Geek To Me: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, Michael! Good luck with the book!

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To enter and WIN A FREE COPY of "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" SEND AN E-MAIL to REDEYEGEEK [at] GMAIL.COM with "The Four Horsemen" in the subject line, and your name and address in the body. ONE WINNER will be drawn from the total number of entries received. One entry per household please. Winner to be drawn at random on Friday, June 8th, 2012 at or around 12:00 PM CST. Winner to be notified via e-mail.

ELLIOTT SERRANO IS A REDEYE SPECIAL CONTIBUTOR AND RESIDENT GEEK EXPERT.